Sagan deflated as hopes of cross-country medal vanish

Schurter, 30, was in a close contest with defending champion Jaroslav Kulhavy of Czech Republic until midway through the fifth lap, but then raced clear in the final five kilometres.

Switzerland’s Nino Schurter completed his Olympic medal collection, winning gold.

Slovakia’s road world champion Peter Sagan, who opted to compete in the mountain bike ahead of the road race, was lapped. Schurter won silver in London and bronze in Beijing, but finally got that elusive gold in Rio. At the 2012 Games, it was Kulhavý who outsprinted Schurter in the final 500m at the 2012 Games to win his gold.

Spain’s Carlos Coloma Nicolas came out on top of a head-to-head duel with Maxime Marotte for bronze, ending 10 seconds clear of his French rival.

France’s 2004 and 2008 champion Julien Absalon finished eighth on his Olympic farewell.

Sagan made a decision to ride off road in Rio after scouting the climb-heavy road course and realizing it did not suit his strengths.

That also meant he started with the final bib number in the very back of the pack.

The rain tapered off an hour before the start left, but it left the winding, technical course in the Deodoro neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro a soggy mess. “Just from the start, just got swamped at the start, I tried to get myself back had a flat tyre on the first lap, got back on and the gears just stopped working”.

The Slovakian star had pushed to the front of the race on the opening lap, but two punctures saw him drop down the field, before eventually abandoning. Schurter and Kulhavy were never more than a few feet apart, the reigning Olympic champ and world champ clearly the strongest riders in the field. It was only until the sixth lap, when Schurter shook Kulhavy from his rear wheel, dropping the Czech champion with some daring riding on the tricky descents, that the Swiss rider began to pull away. The finish was a reversal of the London 2012 competition between the two riders, when Schurter finished in second place after Kulhavy overtook him within the last 200m.